Helping churches lead worship services in multi-cultural contexts.

Blogs & More

Merry Christmas! I pray that the Lord is showing you his amazing grace during this holiday season. As we continue through the holiday, I wanted to present you with a few songs that are usually done during the Christmas season and have been for centuries. One of my favorite songs is ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,And ransom captive Israel,That mourns in lonely exile hereUntil the Son of God appear.RefrainRejoice! Rejoice!Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.2. O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,Who orderest all things mightily;To us the path of knowledge show,And teach us in her ways to go.Refrain3. O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, freeThine own from Satan’s tyranny;From depths of hell Thy people save,And give them victory over the grave.Refrain4. O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheerOur spirits by Thine advent here;Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,And death’s dark shadows put to flight.Refrain5. O come, Thou Key of David, come,And open wide our heavenly home;Make safe the way that leads on high,And close the path to misery.Refrain6. O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,An ensign of Thy people be;Before Thee rulers silent fall;All peoples on Thy mercy call.Refrain7. O come, O come, great Lord of might,Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s heightIn ancient times once gave the lawIn cloud and majesty and awe.Refrain

For a brief history, this song was known to be a song of the “Great Antiphons”. Originally written in Latin, it was translated by John M. Neale, translated as ‘Draw Nigh, Draw Nigh, Emmanuel. The original version was sang on the last 7 octaves, or days, before Christmas, singing one verse per day (December 17-23 with Christmas eve being the final day). The verses were to paint a series of biblical prophecies that were continually fulfilled when Christ was born.

In the first verse, you see Isaiah 7:14 as well as Matthew 1:23 mirrored in this verse. This verse defines the idea of Emmanuel, God with us, and showing Israel being held captive, awaiting their Messiah.

In verse two you see the wisdom of God adored. In verse three, you see the mirror of Isaiah 11, talking about the righteous reign of the branch, and this rod is a representation of Christ. In this chapter, as mirrored through verse 3 of the song, it shows that Christ is the ruler, and He is the only one that can defeat Satan and grant eternal life. The next verse you see shadowed in Malachi 4:2, “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings…” Just as the sun comes and brings day light to night darkness, so will the Son come that we may not be left in darkness and gloom, but bring us to his eternal light. We move to the next verse, speaking of the Key of David, tying with Isaiah 22:22. “And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and no one shall shut, and he shall shut, and no one shall open.” This verse exclaims that this Messiah holds the key to the Kingdom and no one can access it but through Him. In singing these verses, we see the multiple prophecies that were fulfilled! Each verse is another fulfilled prophecy!

In conclusion, the song was taken, as mentioned earlier, from “O Antiphons” also known as “The 7 O’s”. Again, this song was sung the 7 days before Christmas Eve. Here are the 7 O’s, with Latin word with them:

WISDOM, (Sapientia)

LORD (Adonai) AND RULER

ROOT (Radix) OF JESSE,

KEY (Clavis) OF DAVID,

DAWN/LIGHT FROM THE EAST (Oriens),

KING (Rex) OF THE GENTILES

EMMANUEL, (Emmanuel)

In taking the first letter of each word backward, it spells “ERO CRAS”, meaning in Latin, “TOMORROW I WILL COME”. I urge you now family, rejoice, rejoice, for our Emmanuel has come! He is our wisdom, our Lord and Ruler, the Root of Jesse, the Key of David, the light from the east, the King of the Gentiles, He is God with us! He HAS come, born, the Son given. The government is on his shoulders! He rules it and it increases in peace. His Kingdom is established and upheld by Him. We call him Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. On this Christmas Eve, let us rejoice in these truths, in these prophecies that were fulfilled through his birth, and the truth that remains and stands today.

As another busy pastoral week approached me, meeting after meeting continued to come up. Every day, the notifications on my phone continued to remind me of more things that had to be accomplished. The days quickly started to go by. I looked up and it’s Friday morning which was usually my day off. Realizing I have spent zero time preparing Sunday’s worship set, I hastily picked a few songs, rehearsed them, and prepared for the worship team rehearsal. The weekend was busy as we had outreach events and mission teams to greet. Here we are, now, Sunday morning. Everything was in place, lights were ready, sound check, the band in place, vocalists ready, and the set began. Before I knew it, we had started and I realized that I had nothing really to say. My mind was running a mile a minute and I realized how unprepared I was. After the Sunday morning worship gathering I had to think, “why did I not feel ready?” The songs were picked, music sounded good, vocalists sounded good, everything seemed to be in place, but at best, it was just a good ‘set’.

A good set is not our job on Sunday morning. Christ-centered exhortations, shepherding, encouraging, challenge, confessing sin…THAT is our job Sunday morning. From that day I realized I needed a good system to think through what it looks like to be truly ‘prepared’ and I wanted to that system with you.

1.Pray. Pray. Pray. Pray the Lord brings clarity to your week and what you can encourage the congregation through.

2. Be strategic with issues your community is facing and how to deal with it through the liturgy and/or song selection.

3.When you pick the songs, take time during your devotions to find bible verses that match the song. Think through what the passage is saying, who the writer is talking to, and gospel application.

4.Pray through, study, soak in, and let those verses minister to you through the week.

5.Robust & genuine exhortation does not come from what is studied, rather, from the overflow of what the Lord encouraged/challenged YOU with through the passages. Let the Holy Spirit do what He will at that point.

6.Give a 3-4 minute explanation to your team at the rehearsal of what these songs are trying to convey. This will help you communicate the vision for the Sunday so you all are on one accord as well as verbalize what you have been praying and thinking through almost like an ‘exhortation rehearsal’ for yourself before the worship gathering.

This has helped me tremendously and I pray it does the same for you. Until next time…

With Advent already being started, there are still a few things you could add to your service this holiday season. We have a unique time that Christmas and New Years day falls on Sunday’s, so here are some corporate confessions to add to your holiday service schedule.

The leader will read the regular font and the entire congregation would read the bold.

We gather this morning as a people waiting for the Lord. The one who died, rose, and will come again. Yes, this is the truth, and the great mystery of our faith! Yes! Lord Jesus, come into our hearts again this Advent Season!

Communion Confessions:

Everlasting God, we confess that we haven’t been watching. We haven’t been looking out for you. We have forgotten to look for you in the faces of our children, of the homeless around us, in the immigrants who struggle as they serve even us. Forgive us, we pray, and make us ready to greet you in everyone we see on the street as we leave this place. Amen.

Benediction: May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun. May all nations be blessed in him. May Christ Jesus be praised. (Ps 72)

Sunday, Dec 18, 2016

Call to Worship:

With joy we call Emmanuel, God with us, down to meet with us this morning! Christ be with us! Through the birth of Christ, we know God’s love for us. Thanks be to God!

Communion Confession

Merciful God, though your prophets still call out to us, millennia later, we still don’t change our lives. As John the Baptist shouts to the people, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven as come near!”, we know that you are here, and still we don’t change. Still we don’t hear the cries of the needy. Still we don’t prioritize serving the poor. Still we refuse to meet the needs of those who are truly hungry and thirsty around us. Yet, merciful God, you still count on us to carry out your mission, you still encourage us to follow you, you still are near. Help us, Lord, as we seek your way. Amen.

Benediction: In accordance with his promise, we wait for a new heavens and new earth, where righteousness is at home. Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot of blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. (2 Peter 3:13-15)

Christmas Sunday, December 25, 2016

Call to worship:

Luke 2:10-11 – “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see–I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Communion Confession:

God of our salvation and author of our hope, it’s hard for us to see the blessings you have for us. We think that our plans are better and that the things of the world are higher than your ways. You, Lord, are the great interrupter and sometimes we can feel inconvenienced by the calls you put on us to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with you. Remind us that this season that leads to Christmas wouldn’t be here at all if it weren’t for you loving this world that you made. Thank you for loving us, God. Amen.

Benediction

May the Lord make you increase and bound in love for on another and for all, just as we about in love for you. And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13)

New Years Day, January 1, 2016

Call to Worship:

The Word of God has been with us from the start! Praise the Lord! The Word of God is with us even now! Praise the Lord! May the Lord’s grace and peace be with us in the start of this New Year! Amen!

Communion Confession:

Merciful God, though your prophets still call out to us, millennia later, we still don’t change our lives. As John the Baptist shouts to the people, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven as come near!”, we know that you are here, and still we don’t change. Still we don’t hear the cries of the needy. Still we don’t prioritize serving the poor. Still we refuse to meet the needs of those who are truly hungry and thirsty around us. Yet, merciful God, you still count on us to carry out your mission, you still encourage us to follow you, you still are near. Help us, Lord, as we seek your way. Amen.

Benediction:

May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

*Adaptations from The Worship Handbook, Treasury of David, Tenth Presbyterian Church, The Doctrine of the Christian Life by John Frame, & Reformed Confessions.